richardson



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

S. T. RICHARDSON.

STEAM ENGINE.

No. 456,848. Patented July 28,1891

0H t e e h S W e DU h s 3 N 0 SI m I G AN HE .nu A RE M T QM M d 0 M 0 mPatented July 28, 1891.

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zemw/or Jam muio-umm, WAANINGYDN, n. c.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

S. T. RICHARDSON.

STEAM ENGINE.

No. 456,848. Patented July 28, 1891.

.liavezztor MmueZZfizbZaralm/m a umo WASHINGTIJN n c UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL T. RICHARDSON, OF EALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE RICHARDSONENGINE AND S'IEAMSHIP COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

STEAM-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 456,848, dated July 28,1891. Application filed December 18, 1890. Serial No. 375,134. (Nomodel.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL T. RICHARDSON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Baltimore, State of Maryland, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Steam-Engines, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to that class of steamengines in which vibratingwings or pistons are mounted upon an oscillating shaft extending throughthe cylinder and having its axis concentric therewith.

It is the purpose of my invention to provide a steam-engine of this typein which the piston-rod is replaced by a shaft which is 6X tendedthroughout the cylinder and provided with wings or plates whichpractically form the pistons, and to combine with the workingchambers,in which the pistons vibrate, means whereby the live steam shall beadmitted thereto from independentports and caused to expand and pushagainst the alternately-op- I posite faces of the wings or pistons tomove them to a point Where the expanded steam will be discharged andfresh steam admitted from other independent ports to force the pist-onsback to their original position, thereby causing an oscillation of theshaft, upon which they are oppositely mounted. It is my object, in otherwords, to provide a steam-engine'having an oscillating shaft concentricwith the cylinder,wl1ich shall move easily and without the jarring andheavy strain which is incurred in direct-acting engines, whereby anequal pressure of live steam shall be exerted upon the opposite pistons,and whereby, also, a considerable increase in the horse-power developedmay be obtained without a corresponding increase in the space requiredfor the accommodation of the steam mechanism and without increasing thesteam-pressure.

It is my further purpose to provide a steamengine having a shaftextending through and concentric with the cylinder and provided withopposite wings, constituting pistons, which vibrate in oppositesector-shaped chambers, and to combine therewith means whereby livesteam shall be admitted to both of said chambers at the same moment, orsubstantially so, in such manner that it shall push against thealternately-opposite faces of the opposite pistons with like force, eachpiston 'the cylinder from end to end, said shaft b having its ownindependent live-steam and exhaust ports.

It is my purpose, also, to combine with a high-pressure cylinder a shaftextending centrally through the center of the cylinder and provided withopposite wings or pistons rigidly mounted on the shaft and vibratingunder steam-pressure in sector-shaped chambers, to which live steam isadmitted in opposite directions to push against'the alternately-oppositefaces of the opposite pistons with an equal or balanced pressure on eachand a second low-pressure cylinder having a similar central shaftindependentof the shaft of the high-pressure cylinder, but vibrated bysimilar devices, the low-pressure cylinder being so arranged as toreceive the exhaust-steam from the high-pressure cylinder and theindependent vibrating shafts of both cylinders being connected to thesame counter-shaft by pitmen.

It is my purpose, also, to provide a steamengine having an oscillatingshaft substi I tuted for the piston rod and extended through ingprovided with opposite wings, const' ing the pistons, and arranged tovibrate in sector-shaped chambers formed by oppositelyarranged metallicfilling pieces or sectorblocks having live-steam and exhaust ports ineach and containing valve-chambers communicating with the steam-chest,and to combine therewith simple and novel means for giving movement tothe valves, whereby each piston shall have its own live-steam andexhaust ports, the live steam being supplied by independent ports to thealternately-opposite faces of the pistons at the same time and with abalanced pressure.

It is my purpose, finally, to simplify and improve the construction ofsteam-engines of this class; to decrease materially the weight of themetal forming the pistons as compared with those of direct-actingengines to diminish the 116s inertt'cc which must be overcome by thesteam before power can be obtained; to increase the ease and smoothnesswith which the engine is operated and to avoid the jar and strainordinarily caused by the sudden reverse movement of the heavypistonheads used indirect-acting engines; to provide a novelconstruction of the valves opening and closing the steam-ports and tocombine therewith simple and novel means for effecting the valvemovement; to combine together a high-pressure and a low-pressurecylinder arranged in the same axial line, each having an independentshaft extending centrally through its cylinder and oscillated byopposite wings constituting the pistons, said shafts having vibratingcross-heads connected by parallel links to cross-heads on acountershaft, while the counter-shaft has a crankarm connected to awrist-pin on the powershaft by a pitman, and to provide an engine of thetype specified with an arrangement of steam-ports whereby the travel ofthe live steam and exhaust-steam shall be diminished to such a degreethat the expansive power shall be materially increased, whilecondensation is avoided in a corresponding degree.

To these ends my invention consists in the several novel features ofconstruction hereinafter fully set forth, and then more particularlypointed out and defined in the claims following this specification.

To enable others skilled in the art to which the said invention pertainsto make, construct, and use the same, I will proceed to describe saidinvention in detail, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of an engine embodying myinvention with its several connections, showing the intermediate orcounter-shaft and a portion of the power-shaft. Fig. 2 is an endelevation of the engine, the view beingtaken from the low-pressure endof the engine in Fig. 1. .Fig. 3isatransverse or vertical section of thehigh-pressure cylinder in Fig. 1, the section plane being upon the line3 3 in said figure. Fig. 4 is a similar section upon the line 4 4,Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of the high-pressure cylinder,the casing and a portion of the, steam-pipes being in vertical sectionand the interior parts in elevation. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section ofthe high-pressure cylinder, the section plane being in the line 6 6,Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a detail perspective of one of the sector -lolockscontaining the valvechambers and steam-ports. Fig. 8 is a detailperspective of one of the duplex valves. Fig. 9 is a similar view of thevalve-stem with the duplex valves removed. Fig. 10 is a detailperspective of one of the wings or pistons removed from the oscillatoryshaft.

In the several figures of the drawings the supporting frame-work of theengine and its several connections have been wholly omitted, in order torender the illustration more easily understood and to avoid theconfusion which would be caused, in some degree, by theunion of theoperative parts with their supports.

The frame of the engine may be of any known or preferred constructionand forms no part of my present invention.

In the said drawings, the reference-numeral 1 indicates theengine-cylinder, which, if the engine is of the compound type, willloethe high-pressure cylinder.

While I have shown the invention embodied in a compound engine in thedrawings of this application, in which the numeral 2 denotes thelow-pressure cylinder, it should beclearly understood that saidinvention is not limited to this or to any specific type of engine, asit may be applied to steam or other engines of any class. It should beremembered, also, that the steam mechanism of the low-pressure cylinderin the compound engine shown is precisely identical with that of thehigh-pressure cylinder, the parts being duplicates one of another. Forthis reason, also, I have illustrated the construction of the partsinclosed by the cylinder 1, only the cylinder 2, containing the mereduplicates of said parts, differing therefrom in area alone. Thecylinders 1 and 2 are preferably arranged in such manner that their axesare coincident with one and the same straight line, and in the cylinder1 is placed a central shaft 3, extending through the interior of thecylinder and having its ends projecting through glands 4 in the oppositeheads of said cylinders. Upon each outwardly-projecting end of the shaft3 is mounted a duplex crank, consisting, usually, of a ring 5, keyed orotherwise fastened upon the shaft and having oppositely-projecting arms6, the construction being identical with that shown in Fig. 2. Thecylinder 2 of the compound engine is provided with a similar butindependent shaft 7, having upon its projecting ends duplex cranks ofthe form already described, the function of which will be shownhereinafter. Each cylinder is provided with duplex or dividedsteam-chests 8 and 9, coextensive with the length of the cylinder uponwhich they are formed or mounted, and having a diametrically-oppositearrangement one with the other, as seen in Figs. 1 to 4:, inclusive. Apipe 10 for the live steam enters the chest 8 of the high-pressurecylinder at or near its end, and a second or similar pipe 10 enters theopposite steam-chest 9 at a corresponding point. From a point at or nearthe other end of each steam-chest 8 and 9 of the cylin- IIO der 1 pipes13 extend to the steam-chestof the low-pressure cylinder to convey thesteam from the cylinder 1 after its first expansion ind er.

the outer face of the block, which is of such thickness that the concaveface will rest upon the shaft 3 and formv a close joint. The breadth ofth'eouter or convexface of the block is such that when arranged withinthe cylinder directlybeneath the steam-chest 8, orabove the steam-chest9, a marginal longitudinal portion of the convex face will have contactwith the circular interior of the cylinder upon opposite sides of thesteam-chest, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Two of these sector-blocks arearranged in each cylinder diametrically opposite each other and coveringthe open steam-chests, their longitudinal marginal portions formingclose joints with the. circular inner face of the cylinder on each sideof the steam-chest. It will be seen that by this opposite arrangement ofthese sector-blocks the interior of the cylinder is divided into twoopposite working-chambers 21 and 22 of substantially the same shape incross-section as the sectorblocks 17. The parts last named are supportedand fastened by means of bolts 23. The construction and arrangement ofthese sector-blocks are such that the longitudinal recesses 18, by whicha portion of the concave or inner face of each block is removed, havetheir open sides turned in opposite directions, as shown in Figs. 3 and4.

The reference-numeral 25 denotes the wing or plates which constitute thepistons of each cylinder. These pistons, which are usually formed of asingle piece of metal, as shown in detail .in Fig. 10, each consist,essentially, of two members or parts, one being a flat, oblong, andrectangular plate of suitable thickness and having a length and widthequal, respectively, to the interior length of the cylinder and theradial distance between the surface of the shaft 3 to the inner surfaceof the cyl- Upon its inner edge is formed a footplate 26, curved in suchmanner that its inner face shall be concentric with the shaft 3 andprovided with openings to receive bolts 28, by which it is fastened inplace. The angle between this curved plate and the fiat plate or wing 25is such that when the former is placed upon the shaft 3 a cliametricalline drawn through the cylinder shall substantially coincide with a linedrawn centrally from the inner to the outer edge of the plate or wing.The piston-plates are mounted on the shaft diametrically opposite one tothe other, their fastening-plates 26 lying in the recesses 18 in thesector-blocks made 'to receive them, whereby the alternately-oppositefaces of, the pistons are enabled to closely approach the flat facesofthe sector-blocks, which lie in planes substantially parallel with theadjacent faces of the pistons when the latter are in the position shownin Figs. 3 and 4.

In the sector-block 17 upon each side of the diametrioal line of thecylinder areformed circular valve-chambers 29, extending longitndinallyfromthe end of the sector-blocks to a central septum, hereinafterdescribed. Comangular portion of the stem.

' municating with these valve-chambers are two similar live-steam ports30, both formed in the same half of the sector-block and havingconnection with the steam-chest 8, which is divided by a centralpartition 31, lying between the live-steam inlet and the outlet for thelow-pressure steam into two equal steamchambers 32 and 33, the formerhaving communication with the live-steam pipe 10 only, while the latteris in connection with the pipe 13. The live-steam ports 30, which enterthe ber 29 communicate with the working-chambers 21 and 22 bysteam-ports 36, preferably formed at a right angle with the fiat facesof the sector-blocks, as shownin Fig. 3.

Upon the other side of the central septum or wall 34 are ports 36,communicating with the working'chambers 21 and 22 and having connectionalso with val ve-chambers 29, having their axes coincident with the axesof the valve-chambers 29. The ports 35, which enter the valve-chambers29, have communication with the steam-chamber 33 in the dividedsteam-chest.

In each of the valve-chambers 29, and eX- fog being provided with acentral circular enlargement 38, which closely fits the opening in theseptum 34.

Upon each side of the central enlargement 38 of the valve-stem is anangular portion. (Shown in the drawings, Figs. 3, 4, 8, and i 9, as ofrectangular form in cross-section.) The angles of one portion 39 do not,however, coincide with the similar angles of the other portion 40,asshown in Fig. 9, the two angular portions having such relativearrangement that the angles of one alternate with those of the other.

When the valve-stem is introduced within the valve-chambers 29 and 29"in both sectorblocks 17, with its central enlargement 38 closely fittingthe opening in the septum 34, the valves are placed in the followingmanner: Each stem carries two separate rotary valves havingsubstantially similar form, each being composed of a metallic bodyhaving in cross-section a shape resembling a crescent, the exteriorsurface of each valve closely fitting the inner surface of thevalve-chamber in which it is inserted, a central opening or longitudinalchannel being formed in the inner or concave face for the reception ofthe,

Each valve,

IIO

also, is of the same length as the valve-chamber in which it lies, sothat its one end abuts against the central enlargement 38 of the stemand the central septum 34, while its other end is flush with the end ofthe sectorblock. The stem is supported by journals 41, projecting beyondthe outer ends of the angular portions 39 and 40, these journals havingbearings in bushings 42, set in the ends or heads of the cylinder andpacked therein by a suitable packing-nut 43. The journals project beyondthe outer faces of the packing-nut and receive disks 43 of similar size,each. disk being provided with a wrist 44, for a purpose hereinafterdescribed.

By reference to Fig. 3 or Fig. 4 it will be seen that the live-steamports 30 and 3,6 are so arranged with relation to each other, and thatthe inner faces of the rotary valves 1yi-ng in the valve-chambers 29 areso concaved that both ports 30 and 36 may be thrown open and acontinuous channel or passage formed for the live-steam chamber 32 inthe steam-chest 8 to the working-chamber 21, where it expands betweenthe piston 25 and the adjacent flat face of the sector-block 17, throughwhich the port 36 is out. At the same time the other duplicate portionof the valve lying beyond the other side of the central enlargement 38closes the port 35, which opens into the low-pressure steam-chamber 33of the chest 8.

The construction of the valves, valve-chambers, and steam-ports in theopposite or lower sector-block 17 is the same as that described, andthese ports have communication with the two chambers in the lower chest9 in the same manner already set forth in connection with the devices inthe upper sector-block. There is this difference, however, between thetwoviz., that the live-steam ports open upon alternately or diagonallyopposite faces of the two sector-blocks,in order thatthe steam maybethrown and caused to push against the alternately-opposite faces of thepistons 25, as shown by the position of the valve described above, andthe alternately opposite livesteam valve open below and admitting livesteam to push against the face of the piston 25, Fig. 3, therebybalancing the pressure upon both sides of the shaft 3. Themeans by whichthis movement of the independent valve is automatically produced will bedescribed hereinafter, it being sufficient to state at this point thatthe four valves and ports delivering live steam to the working-chambers21 and 22 have such arrangement that when one of the upper valves isopened the lower valve on the same side of the shaft is closed, whilethe lower valve on the other side of said shaft is opened simultaneouslywhile the other upper valve is closed.

I will now show how the steam which has already expanded in theworking-chambers 21 and 22 and brought the pistons 25 into the positionshown in Fig. 3 finds an exit from valve shown in Fig. 8 is inserted inthe valvechambers 29 and 2.) lying above the recess 18, as shown inFigs.3 and 4, and if the valvestem be turned to open the live-steamports 30 and 36," the other part of the valve in the chamber 29 willstill cover the port 35, as shown in Fig. 4, thereby preventing theescape of live steam to the chamber 33 and thence to the low-pressurecylinder. In or der, however, to allow the expanded steam which hasalready done its work to pass out of the working-chambers 21 and 22, thealternately or diagonally opposite valves in the lower left-handvalve-chamber 29 and the upper right-hand chamber 29 in Fig. 4are bothopened, while the valves carried by the same stems, but lying in thevalve-chambers 29 on the other side of the central septa 34, are bothclosed, as shown in Fig. 3. It will be seen from the above descriptionthat each piston has its own inlets and exits for the live steam andexpanded steam, respectively, and that these are arranged upon the sameside or face of the piston when acting successively and upon oppositesides or faces thereof when acting at the same time.

The disks 43 upon the projecting journals of the valve-stems areconnected by link-bars 45, Fig. 2, whereby both valve-stems lyingin theduplex-valve chambers in the same sector-block shall be compelled torotate or oscillate in the same direction simultaneously. In thelink-bar 45, upon each side ofits middle part is formed a notch 46,withone or the other of which the end of a spring-latch 47 engages as thelink-bar reaches its opposite limits of movement. The spring operatingsaid latch is arranged within a housing 48, mounted on the end of thecasing.

The valve movement is produced by the oscillation of the arms 6 of theduplex cranks keyed upon the ends of the shaft 3. The ends of the wrists44 project somewhat beyond the outer surface of the link-bars 45, and ateach oscillation of the duplex crank the upper edge of one of saidcrank-arms 6 strikes one of the said projecting wrists and forces ittomove horizontally, the springlatch 47 being disengaged by the movementof the link-bar at right angles to its own line of movement and by therounded form of its engaging head, which enables it to lift witl easefrom the notches 46, the function of thes! parts being not to lock thevalves positive]! in either position, but to provide means 1" whichaccidental displacement may be pie vented. At the same moment that theupro- IIS edge of either crank-arm makes contact with the projecting endof one of the wrists 44 on either disk 43 the lower edge of the oppositecrank-arm 6 is brought against the similar wrist projecting from theface of the alternately-opposite disk, Fig. 2, or mounted upon one ofthe valve-stems in the lower sectorblock, and thus the two upper duplexvalves are oscillated in one direction, thereby bringing the valveswhich control the entrance of live steam into the position shown in Fig.3, and at the same time moving the valves by which the steam has exit tothe position shown in Fig. 4; or, in other words, opening the live-steamports of the upper left-hand valve-chamber in Fig. 3 and closing thesimilar ports of the valve-chamber horizontally opposite and elfectingan alternately-opposite position of the live-steam valves in thevalve-chambers in the lower sector-block.

Arranged above the engine and having support in any suitable bearings isan intermediate or counter shaft 49, of any suitable length, its axisbeingin the same vertical plane as the axis of the shaft 3 of thehighpressure cylinder and that of the independent shaft of thelow-pressure cylinder. At suitable points upon this counter-shaft arerigidly mounted duplex cranks 50d uplicates in all essential respects-ofthe similar de vices upon the ends of the oscillating shafts, to whichthey are pivotally connected by parallel link-bars 51. I prefer to mountthe duplex cranks upon both ends of each independent cylinder-shaft andconnect the same to duplex cranks on the counter-shaft, in order tobalance the frictional resistance to obtain a perfect equilibrium ofpressure and pro-.

duce a smoother and easier action of the engine; but I do not confine myinvention to such an arrangement.

Power is communicated to the working shaft or power-shaft 52 by a pitmanconnected at one end to a wrist 54, carried by a disk 55, rigid on thepower-shaft, and at its other end to a crank-arm 56 on the powershaft.

My invention is applicable to any engine operated by steam, gas, hot orcompressed air, or other expanding medium. In all large reciprocating ordirect-acting engines of these several species the weight of thepiston-head,

which reciprocates within the cylinder, is very considerable inproportion to the area of the cylinder. For example, in a cylinder ofsixty inches diameter, having an area of two thou sand eight hundred andtwenty-seven square inches and forty-four hundred-tbs of an inch, theWeight of the piston-head is ordinarily about three thousand one hundredand thirtynine pounds, independent of the weight of the piston-rod. Ifthestroke is two feet in length and the number of revolutions onehundred per minute, it will be perceived that the piston travels fourhundred feet per minute and that the direction of movement of thisheavymass of metal is changed diametrically two hundred times. The enormousstrain thus exerted upon the parts by these forces is readilyapparentand thej arring of the mechanism, caused by this constant andrapidly repeated change of movement of this great weight, is a greatdamage, in continued use, to the mechanism itself and to the structureor fabric containing it. Moreover, when a direct-acting er.- gine has avertical stroke the descent of the piston will be assisted by gravityand its re verse movement will be resisted by the same force, thusincreasing the injurious effects referred to. My invention avoids theseobjections by reason of the fact that said invention provides a balancedpiston oscillating upon an axis, which is in substantially perfectequilibrium at all times and in all positions in which it can be plac d.As this balanced piston takes steam in opposite directions upon thealternately-opposite faces of the wings constituting said piston, andtakes said steam at the same moment on both of said faces and from thesame steam-generator, the

pressure or push of the steam is also balanced upon each side of theaxis of oscillation, thereby rendering the movement of the parts farsmoother and easier, avoiding in a great measure, if not entirely, thejar of the mechanism and increasing the possible horsepower developed.It should be noted, also, that by myinvention the live steam from eachsteam-chest has the minimum distance to travel in order to reach theworking-chambers. In fact, it may be said that practically it has notravel, because the opening of the valve exposes the steam-faces of thevibrating wings, against which the live steam expands without anymaterial travel. More over, after its first expansion it exhausts in thesame direct manner through an exit-port lying in the same plane with thelive-steam port and opening through the same face. It is due to thesefacts that there is but an extremely small loss of expansive force, andthat a largely-increased power is developed in the low-p ressurecylinder as compared with other engines of the same type. By attachingthe wings 25 directly to the piston-rod 3, in contradistinction tomounting them upon a piston-cylinder surrounding the shaft, a muchgreater steam-face is given and a cor responding power is gained withoutany increase in the diameter of the cylinder. In marine engines, wherethe'available space is limited, this advantage is of the highestimportance. It will be seen,also, that in my invention the steam isthrown simultaneously against the alternately-opposite faces of theopposite wings and acts successively upon both faces thereof, therebybalancing the power upon the opposite sides of the shaft, the cylinderbeing provided with steam-chests upon opposite sides for this purpose.Finally by my construction I am able to turn out the steam-face of thecylinder and thereby secure a good steam fit.

hat I claim is 1. In a steam or other engine, the combination, with acylinder having two workingchambers arranged upon opposite sides of thelongitudinal axis, of an oscillating shaft having its axis coincidentwith that of the cylinder and independent duplex or two-part valves toopen and close the separate inlets for live steam pushing against wingsor pistons oppositely mounted on the shaft and to open and close theexit-ports for the steam, substantially as described.

2. In a steam or other engine, the combination, with a cylinder having acentral longitudinal shaft provided with opposite wings which constitutepistons adapted to vibrate in working-chambers upon opposite sides ofthe shaft, of independent oscillating valves controlling the admissionof live steam to the Working-chambers, and similar but differently-timedvalves carried by the same stems and controlling the exit of theexpanded steam, substantially as described.

3. I11 a steam or other engine, the combination, with a cylinder havingsector-shaped Working-chambers upon opposite sides of the axis of thecylinder, of a central shaft having its ends packed through the ends orheads of the cylinder and provided with opposite wings constitutingpistons, oscillating valves controlling the live steam fromsteam-chambers in oppositely-arranged and centrally-divided steam-chestson the cylinder, and differentlytimed oscillating valves on the samestems governing the outlet-ports on the same side of each piston,substantially as described.

4. In a steam or other engine, the combination, with a cylinder havingopposite steamchests centrally and transversely divided, ofsector-blocks having convex faces closing the communication of thesteam-chests with the cylinder, but provided with duplex-valve chambersseparated by a central septum, a duplex or two-part valve mounted on asingle stem lying in both valve-chambers, and a central shaft havingopposite Wings which constitute pistons, each sector-block. beingprovided with live-steam ports and exit-ports having connection with theduplex-valve chambers and through the latter with working-chambers onopposite sides of the shaft, whereby a simultaneous push is communicatedto both pistons in opposite directions, substantially as described.

5. In a steam or other engine, the combination, with a cylinder having acentral shaft provided with opposite radial Wings which constitutepistons adapted to vibrate in working-chambers on opposite sides of thecentral shaft, of duplex-valvechambers formed in the sector blocksseparating the workingchambers and each having an inlet and an exit portfor the live steam and expanded steam, respectively, said ports beingseparated by a central septum, the live-steam ports communicating withsteam-chambers in opposite and divided steam-chests and the exitportshaving communication with outletchambers in said steam-chests, duplex ortwopart valves lying in said valve-chambers having their partsdifferently timed but oscillated by the same stems, the valve-stems ineach sector-block being connected by a link, and duplex cranks mountedon the ends of the central oscillating 'shaft and moving the linkconnections of the upperand lower valves in opposite directionssimultaneously at each vibration of the crank-arms, substantially asdescribed.

6. In a steam or other engine, the combination, with a central shafthaving Wings vibrating in opposite workingchambers, of independent inletand outlet ports adjacent to each face of each piston, and duplex ortwopart valves opening and closing said ports, whereby the steamintroduced through an inlet-port finds exit through a port adjacent tothe same face of the piston, substantially as described.

7. In a steam or other engine, the combination, with a cylinder, of acentral oscillatory shaft having opposite wings or plates directlymounted thereon and vibrating in the opposite sector-shaped chambers,and live-steam and exhaust valves mounted on a single stem andalternately delivering steam to and exhausting it from the face of eachwing, substantially as described.

8. In a steam or other engine, the combination, with a cylinder havingopposite working-chambers separated by sectorshaped blocks, of a centraloscillatory shaft upon which said blocks have bearing, said shaft beingprovided with opposite Wings or plates, and a live-steam and exhaustvalve rigidly mounted on a single stem and arranged in valve-chambers ineach sector-block between the steam-chest and the Working-chamber,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

SAMUEL T. RICHARDSON.

Witnesses:

JAMES L. NoRRIs, A. H. NORRIS.

IOC

